Michael Douglas On Judaism: ‘I Wanted To Be Part Of This Tribe’

The Jerusalem Post reports: For two-time Academy Award winner Michael Douglas, this has been the year in which he rediscovered his secular Jewish values.

“For my entire life, I believed I was not Jewish,” Douglas revealed, explaining that he was repeatedly told that being the son of a Christian mother and Jewish father excluded him from being a member of the tribe.

advertisement

“I’m a secular Jew, I’m not formally religious, but I wanted to be part of this tribe. I love its values. This year has been about rediscovering Jewish values that I cherish,” Douglas said to a booming round of applause at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York on Sunday.

It’s been a whirlwind year for Douglas, since he was named the second Genesis Prize Laureate in 2015. From speaking on a three-campus tour across the United States with Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky to delivering a surprise Yom Kippur speech at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Corners, New York, Douglas has certainly done a lot for the faith, for someone who grew up thinking he wasn’t part of it.